Police arresting nine people a day in fight against web trolls

Nine people a day are being arrested for posting allegedly offensive messages online as police step up their campaign to combat social media hate speech.

More than 3,300 people were detained and questioned last year over so-called trolling on social media and other online forums, a rise of nearly 50 per cent in two years, according to figures obtained by The Times.

About half of the investigations were dropped before prosecutions were brought, however, leading to criticism from civil liberties campaigners that the authorities are over-policing the internet and threatening free speech.

Arrests are expected to rise after Amber Rudd, the home secretary, last week announced a national police hub to crack down on hateful material online. Freedom of information requests have revealed that 3,395 people across 29 forces were arrested last year under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, which makes it illegal to intentionally “cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another” with online posts.

It is a rise of nearly 50 per cent since 2014, when there were 2,315 arrests, and an increase of 23 per cent since 2015 when there were 2,755 arrests.

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